Central Truth

God knows our hearts, and He loves us so much that He warns us of the pitfalls of life and reminds us of the great blessings we have through Him.

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Reflections

Matthew Henry says this about Proverbs 17:3: "God tries the heart by affliction. He thus has often shown the sin remaining in the heart of the believer."

We believers aren't perfect; therefore, God provides a guide on some mistakes to avoid in our lives. People are funny in that we often make the same mistakes over and over. Watermark's pastor Todd Wagner used the analogy last year about his children scaring him by hiding behind a door and jumping out screaming, and then laughing at dear old dad. Eventually, we figure out that there is a person hiding behind the door, and we anticipate the scare.  But we often let the same sin in our lives jump out and grab us over and over. Actually, we knowingly run to it even though we know it will bring pain into our lives and the lives of others.  

God simply wants our hearts. He wants us to pursue Him in all things.

Think about Job for a moment. God allowed Satan to put Job through hell on earth, but Job loved God (and God most definitely loved Job) through it all. And God rewarded him for his faithfulness. That doesn't lessen the impact of the pain Job suffered, but he persevered through the pain because it brought glory to God. This reminds me of Romans 5: 1-5 in which we learn that suffering produces endurance; and endurance, character; and character, hope.  

God tempers our hearts through good and bad, but He does it because He loves us. Similarly, we, as parents, discipline a child in love, which is not fun at all. We do it because we love our children and don't want them to make mistakes that will bring pain into their lives. We also reward our children for making good choices, just like God rewards us.

This chapter in Proverbs has so many other good lessons—forgiveness, honesty, choosing godly friends, dealing with confrontation, patience, a bridled tongue, not wasting time on the foolish, and many others.    

God loves you and cares for you deeply!

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Discussion Questions

1. Do you live your life by the simple lessons outlined in Proverbs 17?

2. How often do you find yourself making the same mistakes? What are you doing to take ground against sin in your life?

3. How do you respond when God tempers your heart? Do you bow up or accept His discipline so that you can bring more glory to Him?

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